Family Portrait
by usocrazyambrose
Summary: A series of unrelated snapshots into the lives of Jake Peralta and Amy Santiago.
1. Chapter 1

"Jake? Did you hear me?" Amy asked as she watched her husband from across the kitchen. He had been eating a bowl of cereal and flicking though a case file that he had brought home to work on. Now he stood still as stone with his spoon hanging in mid-air. "Jake?"

Amy crossed the kitchen and took the spoon out of his hand before he dropped it. Jake's eyes hadn't followed her across the room so he was now staring at nothing with his mouth hanging wide open.

"Pregnant," he mumbled, still staring across the room at the spot where Amy had been standing. "Pregnant?"

"Yeah Jake," Amy nodded. Jake turned to face her so fast that Amy was a little startled.

"Pregnant," he laughed, placing his hands on his hips and slightly leaning back on his heels. "Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Pregnant huh? That's cool. Very cool. Super cool. I'm totally calm right now, I don't why you're freaking out Amy! Stop freaking out!"

"Jake!" Amy laughed, laying her hands on her husband's shoulders, "you're the one freaking out right now. Just breathe okay?"

"Okay," Jake nodded, showing no signs of calming down. "Cool."

"See Ames, I'm totally calm right now," Jake rambled as they approached the precinct in the elevator, the other floors slowly passed them by. "Totally cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool."

The elevator doors sprung open before them. Amy gave Jake one last look before walking out into the precinct. She greeted the first person she saw in her totally normal way before heading towards her desk. She assumed, wrongly, that Jake was right behind her.

"Hey there Jake!" she heard Boyle say, overly chipper as usually.

"I'm totally calm Boyle! Stop interrogating me!" Jake yelled and rushed off down the corridor towards the evidence room.

"Dear lord," Amy sighed as she took her jacket off and hung it over the back of her chair.

"Is everything okay with Peralta?" Captain Holt asked Amy, appearing from nowhere behind her.

"He's… He's being Jake," Amy replied.

Boyle hurried back down the corridor that he had followed Jake down and made her way towards Amy. He looked highly confused and a little scared.

"What did you do?" Boyle questioned, "you broke him."

"I'll go talk to him," Amy sighed and made her way towards the evidence room.

When she pushed the door to the evidence room open slowly as to not make any sudden movements and startle him, she stopped Jake pacing up and down the small room. He had one hand buried in his hair and one on his hip as he paced furiously.

"Jake," Amy said quietly.

"Ames," he breathed, stopping and turning to face her immediately, "I think I scared Boyle."

"Yeah, no kidding," Amy laughed as she approached him, "come on Jake. Why are you freaking out so much? We knew this was going to happen eventually, we talked about this."

"I know we did," Jake nodded, taking Amy's hands in his own, "and I'm not saying that this isn't what I want, it just… surprised me."

"I know what you mean," Amy agreed, "I didn't expect it to happen right now. We were careful."

"Ames, I can barely look after myself let alone a baby," Jake admitted, "what if I end up like Sarge when the twins were born. I don't want to be stuck behind a desk."

"You won't be," Amy insisted, "and you're so good with the Sarge's kids. We'll be fine, we'll figure it out."

"I guess," Jake nodded, "sorry for freaking out."

"I expected a lot more to be honest, Jake."

Later that day, when the dust had settled, Amy and Jake asked everybody to join them in the break room. Rosa complained about it and Gina made a snide comment (all in jest of course) about being moved from her desk but she still followed her colleagues anyway.

"What's going on guys?" Sarge asked as he closed the door to the break room behind him.

"You aren't getting a divorce, are you? That would totally ruin everything I had planned for us!" Charles exclaimed, seemingly genuinely distressed at the prospect.

"No!" Jake replied as the crew all looked at Boyle in surprise, "of course not and I did not agree to any planned future Charles! But we do have some news."

"I'm pregnant," Amy smiled. There were a few moments of stunned silence before the break room erupted. Terry lifted Jake off of his feet in a hug. Boyle began lecturing Amy on the do's and don'ts of pregnancy. Captain Holt offered his congratulations. Hitchcock and Scully started crying. Even Rosa cracked a smile.

"Is that what your crazy meltdown was all about?" Gina asked without looking up from her phone.

"Psssh. No. Of course not," Jake laughed, "I was freaking out about… the weather… taxes… climate ch- okay yeah. I was freaking out about it."

"You don't need to freak out Jake," Terry said, "you're going to be an awesome father."

"Thanks Sarge," Jake smiled.

"Hey, you now what a cool baby name would be?" Boyle asked, half trying to make up for his earlier slip up.

"John McCl-" Jake began, preparing to high-five his best friend.

"No!" the entire Nine-Nine yelled in unison. Jake and Boyle both dropped their hands.

"Fine. Whatever," Jake said, "I was clearly joking guys. Pssh. Please. I totally wasn't going to suggest that. Just John then?"


	2. Chapter 2

A angst filled snapshot of Amy's journey while Jake was in prison, based on the song 'All I Want' by Kodaline

* * *

Night times were the worst for Amy. It was during the night that she couldn't hide in the hustle and bustle of the precinct. She couldn't bury herself in cases and paperwork. She couldn't have meaningless small talk with her colleagues. All she had was her Jake-less apartment.

She didn't think it would be as hard it had been. Gina was quick to remind Amy that nothing was the same without Jake and Rosa. They all missed his insatiable enthusiasm and incessant energy contrasted with Rosa's stoic demeanour and snarky comments. There were two large holes in the Nine-Nine.

On some nights, Amy would catch herself glancing at the doorway every so often, hoping to see Jake coming home for the night with a new story to tell. She imagined him rambling on and on without taking a breath. He always over-embellished his story to the point where it was unbelievable. She enjoyed getting the real story the next day, but always listened to Jake's tales without discouraging him. Amy was sure nobody had ever been as enthusiastic about there job as Jake Peralta was. It was those nights when she slept on the sofa, their bed felt too large for one person.

 ** _All I want is nothing more, to hear you knocking at my door._**

Amy had finally managed to get a visit without Boyle. He was a dear friend, but god was he annoying sometimes!

"Jake!" Amy smiled as she wrapped her arms around him for the first time in weeks. The prison uniform scratched her skin lightly, how the hell did he wear it all the time?

"Hey Ames," Jake breathed as they pulled away and sat down at the table before the prison guard yelled at them for touching for too long. She would not have her visit cut short, not again.

"How are you doing?" Amy asked, desperately wanting to reach across the table and lay her hands over his clenched fist. This place had made him so tense.

"I'm okay," Jake nodded, trying to sound upbeat, "one day at a time, you know. Rolling with the punches. Riding the wave."

"Jake-"

"I'm okay, Amy," he smiled, it was a half-ass attempt, "how are things at the precinct?"

"We're still looking for something, anything, but the case against you guys is air tight," Amy sighed, she hated admitting defeat.

"That's okay," Jake nodded, "but you'll keep trying, right?"

"Of course!" Amy smiled, "we're all doing everything that we can. Even Hitchcock and Scully."

"Well then we're screwed," he teased, diffusing the tension and lightly the mood.

Their hour passed quickly and then they were hugging goodbye and Jake was being led back to cells with the rest of the prisoners. She hated seeing him like this, but it only spurred her on to find the truth and clear Jake and Rosa's name.

 ** _When you said your last goodbye, I died a little bit inside._**

They were only apart for eight weeks, but neither of them wanted to experience it again. Eight weeks was enough for the pair of them to realise just how comfortable and in love they were.

The night that Jake came home was strange, maybe even a little awkward at first. He was jumpy and on edge. The typical noises that came with city living freaked him out and had him instinctively reaching for the weapon that would usually be sat on his hip. Amy decided it was best not to give him a gun just yet.

It didn't take long for him to get comfortable again and they fell back into the routine they had had before everything went down. They ordered takeout and settled down to watch Die Hard, it was Jake's only wish.

When the credits of the movie began to roll, Amy stood up and made her way towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Jake caught her arm as she passed him, making her stop and look down at him.

"Thanks Amy," he smiled.

"What for?" Amy questioned.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "just everything, I guess."

"That's okay, Jake," she laughed, "you're back now and that's what matters."

"Yeah," Jake nodded. Jake pulled Amy down so that she fell into his lap. "That was more graceful in my head."

"You're such a jerk, Peralta," Amy laughed as she sat down properly next to him.

"But you love me still, right?" he asked, teasing her.

"Maybe just a little."

 ** _'_** ** _Cause you brought out the best of me, a part of me I'd never seen._**


	3. Chapter 3

_**GOOD MORNIN'**_

Amy stirred before fully waking up. She dragged her eye lids open, only to be met with the blinding sunlight that was streaming through the narrow gap in the curtains. She cursed, squeezed her eyes shut and eyes rolled over furiously. Then she came to her senses.

When her eyes recovered from the sunlight, she was faced with her sleeping boyfriend, Jake Peralta. This was the first time Amy had spent the night at his place. A small smile crept across her face as she marvelled in how peaceful he looked.

"Jake," she mumbled, poking his arm gently, "Jake."

"Mmm?" he replied.

"We have work soon," Amy told him, wishing she didn't have to ruin this moment. She wanted to stay there all day.

"No," he groaned as he used one hand to pull the covers tighter and the other to pull Amy to closer to him. "Don't wanna."

"Me either," Amy admitted. She revelled in his warmth as she allowed herself to close her eyes.

"Amy Santiago!" Jake teased, "are you saying you'd skip work for me?"

"Nice try, Peralta," she laughed.

"I could get used to this," Jake mused.

"Me too."

As soon as Jake woke up he felt as though something was wrong. The light was different, he felt well-rested for once, he felt panicked. Crap! He checked to clock on his bedside table. 8:32am. Holy crap!

"Amy," Jake said, "Amy wake up!"

"Shut up," she groaned, "my alarm hasn't gone off yet."

"No, it didn't," Jake told his girlfriend, "we slept in, Ames."

"What?" Amy asked, shooting out of the bed at superhuman speed. "It's 8:30! Jake!"

"I'm sorry!" Jake protested, throwing back the covers and getting out of the bed, "I'm really sorry! I must have forgot to set the alarm. I'm sorry!"

"No time for that right now, Peralta!" Amy insisted, "we have to go!"

"Amy!" Jake called, running around the bed and grabbing Amy's hand as she began to freak out. "We'll get there, just chill out."

"Chill out? How can I chill out right now Jake, huh?" Amy asked through gritted teeth, "I'm not getting to work any faster right now, am I?"

"Holt will understand," he told her. "Look, go take a shower. I'll make breakfast and call Terry. Being late once is nothing. Chill out."

Amy took a breath and looked at Jake for a few moments. Half of her wanted to rush into work as fast as possible but the other half of her wanted to not care so much about being late once in a while.

"We'll get there for 9.30, I promise," Jake told her.

"Okay," Amy nodded, "but just this once."

Amy lay awake in the middle of the night. She was nestled into Jake's side. His arm was wrapped tightly around her, and her hand lay on his chest. She stared at the new addition to her left hand, the stunning engagement ring Jake had just given her.

"What are you thinking about?" Jake asked, startling her slightly. Amy hadn't realised that she was awake.

"I'm not thinking," she admitted, "I'm just happy."

"Just promise me you won't go full bridezilla," Jake teased.

"I promise," she laughed, "as long as I can make a selection of binders."

"Ames, our wedding would never run smoothly if you hadn't planned every single detail of said wedding and included them all in at least 4 binders, all in varying colours," Jake replied, "I refuse to have a binder-less wedding, Amy Santiago!"

"You're such an idiot, Jake," Amy laughed. Jake placed a light kiss on her head.

"For binder or for worse, right!"

"Jake, I swear to god if you don't stop fidgeting I will rip your head off," Amy threatened as Jake tossed and turned again.

"Sorry," he mumbled, settling on his back, "it's too hot in here."

"Well I'm sorry my pregnant body is such an inconvenience to you," she snarled. Jake sighed, knowing it was just one of her moments.

"I wasn't saying that, Ames, and you know it," Jake replied, being careful to choose his words. When there no reply from his wife, he tossed the covers back and stood up. He picked up his pillow and grabbed the fleece blanket that had fallen on the floor. "I'll sleep on the couch tonight. Get some sleep babe."

Amy watched as he walked out of their bedroom. She hated that her attitude got so back but she couldn't help it. At first, Jake would do whatever he could to make her feel better. Now, after one too many explosions on her part, he just tried to avoid conflict. She sighed and followed him into the living room where he was already laying down.

"Jake?" she asked, standing in the doorway of their bedroom.

"Yeah?" he replied, lifting his head up to look at his wife.

"Just come back to bed, you'll hurt your back if you sleep there all night," she told him.

"I'm good Ames," he replied.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" she asked, "I don't want you to go to sleep angry."

Jake sighed and sat up. He ran his hands through his hair and stood up.

"I'm not mad, Amy," Jake assured her as he made his way towards her, "I promise I'm not."

"Why won't you come back to bed then?" she asked as he took her hands.

"I just want you to get a decent sleep, you need it more than I do right now," he told her, "but if you want me to come back, I will. Just let me grab my pillow."

"Okay," she nodded, "I'm sorry for being so frustrating. Only a month longer through."

"That's right," Jake smiled.

After carrying a baby for nine months and then looking after him all day everyday while Jake was working made Amy so exhausted. She was thankful that Jake got up during the night when their son cried but she was worried that he'd burn himself out. Still, he carried on despite her protests.

It was 3am when their daughter began crying again. Jake was quick to wake up and even quicker to hurry across the room and pick his daughter up. With his daughter in his arms, he wandered out of the bedroom and through the house into the kitchen when he could prepare a bottle for her.

"Sssh," he cooed to the four-month-old, "Daddy's got you."

The little girl stared up at her Dad in wonder. Jake knew she was going to be such a Daddy's girl. There three-year-old son was a complete and utter Mommy's boy.

"Daddy?" a small voice asked from the direction of the staircase. As Jake fed his daughter, he headed in the direction of the voice. His son was sat on the bottom step of the staircase, clutching the toy giraffe that Gina had given him for his birthday.

"Hey bud," Jake said in a quiet voice, "what are you doing up so late?"

"Why does she cry all the time, Daddy?" the little boy, who was the splitting image of his father, asked.

"She cries because she's still very little and she can't tell Mommy and me what she wants. You used to cry all the time too, kid," he told his son as he sat next to him on the step.

"No way," his son protested.

"Yeah," Jake laughed, "listen bud. Why don't you go get in Mommy and Daddy's bed, huh. I'll be up there in a little while. Try not to wake you Mom though."

"Okay," the boy nodded and headed back up the stairs. Jake watched him until he disappeared around the corner before standing up again.

Once the baby was fed, changed and sleeping soundly again, Jake headed back up the stairs. When he got to the doorway of his and Amy's bedroom, the scene before him warmed his heart. His wife and son were sleeping soundly, huddled together against the chill in the room. He placed his daughter back in her cot and climbed into his bed carefully, being careful not to wake either of them. Jake couldn't believe how things in his life had worked out, he'd gotten everything he wanted.


End file.
